What if Family Remains
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if it took place pre-series? Sam is 18, Dean is 22.  Kidnapped Sam.  Chapter 6 of 6 is up.
1. Graduated

What if Family Remains took place pre-series?

John was driving back from their latest hunt behind Dean. Two weeks ago, he had given Dean the Impala and got himself a truck. He was glad that he had something of himself to give to Dean, but he was going to miss owning the car. It had seen him through a lot of tough times.

Sam had just finished up his last week of high school while John and Dean were on their hunt. That was good because now Sam could hunt full time. He had almost insisted that Sam drop out when he was 17 like Dean did, but just couldn't quite bring himself to do it. But now school was over, Sam would be forced to hunt full time.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam sat in the hotel room his father had left him at. He had graduated from his latest high school today, and there had been nobody there to see him graduate. He knew his father didn't care about anything but hunting, but it still hurt. He had also received his acceptance and notification of a full-ride scholarship to Stanford. He was going to have to find a way to tell his dad…and Dean. He was actually dreading Dean more. His father probably wouldn't even notice if he was gone.

He heard the Impala pull up. Sam smiled. For people who tried to keep a low profile they sure drove a noisy car. Behind that, he heard his dad's new truck. Still pretty noisy, but slightly less so. "I'm going to college," Sam said. Maybe if he said it before they came in, it would be easier to say when they were actually there.

"Congratulations, Sammy," Dean said when he came in. He didn't really see the value of a diploma for a hunter, but he knew that Sam had always worked hard in school and it was important to him. Maybe their dad would let them splurge on a night out as a celebration.

"Thanks," Sam said. At least Dean had acknowledged his achievement.

"Got another job lined up," John said with no preamble as he walked into the room.

"Dad, we just got back from a job," Dean whined.

"Should be an easy salt and burn," John said. "Man was killed in his house. No forced entry, no prints."

"Sounds like a ghost," Dean said.

"Yes. We just need to find out who it is and do a quick salt and burn. It's two states over. We leave in the morning."

"OK, so let's go out tonight. Celebrate Sammy's graduation," Dean suggested.

"No, I don't want us to be tired tomorrow. It's a long drive and it's never a good idea to be tired on a hunt. Get to bed," John said and headed out to grab the rest of the gear from the car.

Sam wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected anything else. "Dean, I…," Sam began, wanting to tell him about Stanford, but it stuck in his throat.

"We'll celebrate after the next job. I promise, Sammy," Dean said and headed into the bathroom.

Sam got into bed so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone else until tomorrow. This was going to be hard.

John walked back in with the stuff and was surprised to see Sam in bed. He tried to remember the last time he had actually done what he had been told. Dean came out. "Good night, Dad," he said a little coldly. He thought living in one place all the time, manicured lawn, 9 to 5 job, all that would be boring and get real old, real fast. But once in a while, he wished they could do something like a regular family, something like celebrating Sam's graduation.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Sam, you ride with me," John said, when they were packing up in the morning. He needed to have a talk with Sam. Let him know that now he was out of school, he would be expected to shape up.

Dean wanted to protest. He liked it when Sam rode with him, but his father seemed pretty adamant. Sam just shrugged. He would not tell his father about Stanford now, if he was going to be stuck in the car with him all day. That was for sure.

"Sam, now that you're out of school, I expect you to pull your weight with the hunting," John said as they pulled out into traffic.

"OK," Sam said. At least until I leave for school, he added mentally.

"I mean it. Your head hasn't been in the game for a while now." John continued lecturing while Sam remembered the hunt that had finally, permanently put him off hunting.


	2. The Jacksons

Flashback:

The Winchesters had teamed up with another family like themselves for a wendigo hunt. Jed had two sons, Jimmy and Joey. Jimmy was the same age as Dean and Joey was the same age as Sam. They had also lost their mother to a supernatural creature when they were young. They knew what it was, though. She had been killed by a shapeshifter in the form of her husband. Her husband had walked in and saw him killing her. He hadn't known anything about the supernatural, but had learned quickly enough after that.

Over the years, the two families had hunted together on several occasions. Last year, the Jacksons had got wind of a wendigo hunt and asked the Winchesters if they wanted to join them. They weren't doing anything else, so John said sure.

Sam and John had been fighting a lot that summer. True, they always fought. But that had been a banner year for it. Dean was getting sick of always mediating, so he was glad there were going to be other people around. He had noticed that his father didn't like fighting in front of other people. The problem was Sam had noticed that, too, and started using it to his advantage. It just made the fighting doubly bad once they were alone again.

The two families met up at the edge of the woods. "What do we know?" John asked.

"Typical wendigo," Jed answered. "Bunch of hikers went missing about 25 years ago, and now it's starting up again. It's somewhere in these woods."

"Maybe we should split up and try to corner it," John suggested. Wendigo hunts were always tricky. They knew how to hide.

Jed had been noticing there was some friction going on between John and Sam as usual. He also knew John usually liked to keep Sam with him or Dean to make sure Sam was protected, but Jed had a feeling that Sam and John would kill each other and Dean needed a break from the whole family.

"How about Sam comes with me, Joey goes with you and Dean and Jimmy go together," Jed suggested. Dean and Jimmy were old enough to be on their own, and this way each of the "kids" were with adults. It was hard to believe Joey and Sam were 17 years old. Seemed like Joey was just two.

John thought that over for a minute. Normally, he didn't trust Sam with other hunters besides himself and Dean, but they had been hunting with the Jacksons for years. "OK," he nodded.

Dean almost sighed in relief. He loved his family but they were majorly getting on his nerves. It had been non-stop fighting for almost a month. It would be nice to have a couple of hours without the tension. They were hunting a wendigo so there would be tension, but at least it would be different.

"What's up with your dad and brother? It seems pretty tense," Jimmy said, when they were out of earshot of the others.

"Same stuff as always," Dean said and rolled his eyes. They didn't talk anymore, but looked for tracks to see if they could flush out the wendigo. If they found any, they would call the others.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Two hours later

Jed and Sam were walking in companionable silence. Sam often wished Jed was his father. Jed wanted Joey to go to college and quit hunting. He said one of them should be respectable and have a normal life.

Jed's phone rang. "It's your dad," he said to Sam, and answered it.

"You find it?" Jed asked.

"Yeah, it's dead. Meet back at the cars," John said and hung up.

"Guess that hunt's over," Jed said to Sam.

John repeated the call to Dean.

"My dad got it, I guess," Dean said to Jimmy. He was a little disappointed. He hadn't killed anything lately. Seemed like his dad was beating him to everything.

"Good. It's still early. Maybe we can go out to a bar after."

Dean grinned. "Always a silver lining." They laughed.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Hey, John. Where's Joey?" Jed asked as he and Sam approached the cars where John was waiting.

"I'm so sorry," John said.

"Sorry about what?" Jed asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

John just shook his head. Dean and Jimmy came out of the woods, still laughing.

Jed ran over to Jimmy and grabbed him in a hug. "What's wrong, Dad?" Jimmy asked.

"Your brother…," Jed sobbed. He couldn't say the words. He had already lost their mother. Now his son, his youngest, his favorite if he was honest.

"What happened?" Jimmy directed the question to John.

"I'm so sorry," John said again. It was all he could say. He couldn't relive that boy's death again. When it had happened his first thought was Thank God it wasn't Sam. He never did tell Jed exactly what happened.

End of flashback


	3. Ultimatum

Dean pulled up behind his father's truck. "Is this the house?" he asked.

"Yep. Let's go in and see what we can find."

They went in and Dean went to the second floor, John to the basement, and Sam stayed on the first floor. That was how they always split up. So that John or Dean could get to Sam if something happened. Sam shook his head. He was an adult now. He wondered if he was planning to keep hunting, if it would be like this until he was 50. In a way it was sweet, but in other ways, he was so sick of the "protect Sammy" rule.

John and Dean eventually came back to the main floor. "Find anything?" they both asked at the same time.

"No," all three answered together.

"We should go talk to the neighbors," John said. "But we should wait until morning. It's getting late."

"OK," Dean said. He was wondering if he should bring up celebrating again.

"I've been thinking," John started. He wanted to extend an olive branch to Sam. "Bobby says they're having some kind of festival in Sioux Falls the last weekend in August. I think we should go."

"Really?" Dean asked. It had been a long time since they had done something non-hunting related as a family, and to do it at Bobby's would be like a double treat. Dean had always thought of Bobby as a second father.

Sam knew that that was his orientation weekend. He decided it was now or never. "I can't go."

"What do you mean?" John asked. He was trying to do something nice for Sam and as usual Sam was spitting all over it. What else could he possibly have planned? He was done with his precious school and he didn't have a girlfriend, or friends, or anything outside of hunting anymore.

"I'm going to college. Stanford."

No he wasn't. "Who do you think is going to pay for that?" John asked. He briefly remembered the college fund he had started for the boys when they were little. It was long since spent on ammo, but somehow he realized that it was messed up how he didn't want his son to go to college. In the back of his mind he knew that was messed up. But that was in the back of his mind. The front of his mind needed Sam to stay with them so he could protect him.

"I got a scholarship," Sam answered.

Dean was just watching this exchange. Sammy was leaving? He knew that Sam didn't feel the same way about hunting that he did, but he didn't think he would ditch them.

"How long have you been planning this?" John yelled. Sam was plotting leaving behind his back.

"This can't be a complete surprise," Sam pointed out. He had always studied hard and tried to maintain his 4.0 average. What would be the point of that if he hadn't been planning to go to college?

"I'll give you 24 hours to come to your senses. After that, if you're going to college, leave now, and don't ever come back," John said.

"Dad!" Dean protested.

"No, it's OK, Dean. At least, now I know how Dad feels. I don't need 24 hours. I'll go now," Sam said, and stalked out of the house.

"Sam," Dean said and started to go after him.

"Leave him. He made his choice," John said.

Dean hesitated for a moment. He wanted to go after Sam, but Dad had made his feelings pretty clear. He might throw him out, too, and there would be no place for him with Sam at his college.

Sam grabbed his clothes out of the truck and was starting to leave when he felt something solid in his back. It felt like a gun, and he knew that knowing what a gun in his back felt like was why he wanted to go to college. "Dad?" he asked. Was his dad going to force him to stay with a gun? Would he really shoot him if he tried to leave?

"No," he heard whispered in his ear. "Let's take a little walk to the woods."

Sam started to drop the bag, but was quickly told not to. "Wouldn't want Daddy to know anything is wrong," came another whisper.

Sam held onto the bag and walked to the woods with the gun still in his back. He didn't know what was going on. The voice sounded familiar. He had a feeling that whoever it was didn't want him to know who he was. He started to turn to look. "Don't," was hissed in his ear.

When they got to the woods, he felt the gun being removed from his back and brought to bear on his head. He sank down to the ground, unconscious.

"We've given him long enough to leave, let's get out of here," John said.

Dean didn't say anything, just followed him out. "His bag's gone," John noted. "Follow me to a motel."

Sam woke up with a headache. He tried to open his eyes, but realized he was blindfolded. He felt his hands cuffed behind his back and his feet were tied together. He had no idea where he was, but it wasn't cold, so he wasn't outside. He also had no idea what time it was, or how long he had been here. He heard a door open. He remained motionless. It might be better if whoever it was thought he was still out. He heard footsteps coming towards him. They stopped right next to him. He jumped when he felt a hand in his hair.

"Shh."

"Who are you?" he asked.

He didn't receive an answer, but he was pulled into a sitting position. A glass was pushed up against his lips. Not knowing what was in it, he fought against it. His head was forced back and he felt water coming into his mouth. He didn't taste anything weird. He could only hope it was just water. The person then got up and left him. He heard the door open and close again and assumed he was alone.


	4. Set Up

"Did you know your next door neighbor?" John asked, pointing in the direction of the house. It couldn't be seen from there. They were inthe middle of the country.

"Nobody's lived there for years," the man answered.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked. "He was murdered a couple of days ago."

"I think you have some bad information," the man answered firmly and closed the door.

"Where did you get your info, Dad?" Dean asked.

"Bobby called me with it," John said reaching for his phone. Maybe he had the address wrong.

"Hello," Bobby answered, grumpy as always.

"Bobby, I think maybe we got the wrong place. What was that address you gave me?"

Bobby gave him the info again. "That's where we are, but we were told there was no murder and nobody had lived in that house for years. "

"Was it dusty?" Bobby asked.

"No, actually it seemed like it had been newly scrubbed and cleaned. Like someone had just got rid of all the dust. Where did you hear about this?" John asked.

"Tip from the Roadhouse."

"See if you can find out exactly where it came from," John said and hung up.

"What's going on?" Dean asked.

"Looks like we got some bad info. Let's go check out the house one last time, though. "

"Why? If there's no case, what's the point?" Dean asked.

"Just a feeling," John answered. If someone sent them there on purpose, there might be a reason.

They walked into the house.

"What are we looking for if we're not looking for a ghost?" Dean asked.

"Signs of humans," John said, not knowing what he was looking for himself. "We'll look around for an hour and then leave if we don't find anything or hear from Bobby," John promised.

"Fine," Dean said. He had wanted to spend the night celebrating with Sam, but if that wasn't going to happen, he might as well look around a stupid old house.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sam heard the door open again and again he was approached by the footsteps. He felt the ropes being cut away from his feet. Then he felt himself being pulled up to a standing position, and he was pushed forward. He almost stumbled, but was caught and lifted back up. The hand remained on his arm and he was forced forward.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

Again he wasn't answered, but he was ushered out of the door and he felt a hand on his head, pushing him down and into a car. He heard the door close and then a couple of seconds later, he heard a door open and someone sit beside him.

He realized he was sitting in the back seat, when the car started and began to drive. That meant there were at least two of them.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"I didn't find anything," Dean said. "Let's just go."

"I don't understand why someone would lure us here and then not stick around," John said.

"Let's just go," Dean said and turned toward the door. Then he froze. Sam was standing there blindfolded and held by a man in a ski mask. There was a gun at his head and another man standing slightly behind them. "Dad," Dean whispered.

John was instantly alert at Dean's tone. He turned around. "Who are you?" he asked.

He wasn't answered, but the man just whispered something into Sam's ear. "You're supposed to take your guns out and put them on the floor," Sam relayed.

"We don't have any guns," John said.

Sam's captor pulled back the hammer on the gun.

"OK!" Dean shouted and shot his father a look. He didn't care if his father had kicked Sammy out of the family, he wasn't going to let him get killed over their fight.

They both reached into their jeans and pulled out a gun and put it on the floor.

Something else was whispered in Sam's ear.

"Kick them away," Sam said. He wished he could see his dad. See if he was mad at Sam for letting himself be captured. See if he hated him, and was only going along because of Dean. He had heard his father's first refusal. He probably didn't care what happened to him.

"Put your hands behind your back," Sam said as more instructions were whispered into his ear. It was really bugging him. The voice sounded so familiar, but he felt like it was being disguised along with the whisper.

Since they had given up their weapons, John saw no point in resisting. He put his hands behind his back and Dean followed suit. The other man walked up behind them and cuffed John's hands together. He then grabbed one of Dean's hands and pulled it through John's arms and cuffed them together. That should make it hard for them to get anywhere. He pushed them down and John ended up landing on Dean. They shifted until they were sitting.

The two men took off their ski masks. "Couldn't let you see who we were until we got you under control. You would know we were going to kill Sam no matter what."

Sam gasped as he finally recognized the voice. It was Jed Jackson.

"Come on, Jed. Sam never did anything to you," John said.

"That's true. But you killed my son, so I'm going to kill yours. An eye for an eye."

"I didn't kill him. It was the wendigo," John said.

Jed put his gun away and pulled out a knife. He put it to Sam's throat. "Wendigos have sharp claws, right?"

"Please," John begged. "Kill me, instead."

"That would be too easy. I want you to know the pain I've felt having to live knowing I was responsible for my son's death by having him hunt."

"I can't imagine that pain," John began.

"Soon, you won't have to. This knife will re-enact the wendigo claws," Jed said and he cut Sam's arm.

"He wasn't killed by the wendigo," John yelled. "He fell from the bridge and drowned.

"What?" Jimmy asked.

"You know that bridge that was in those woods. The railing wasn't secure and when he was running from the wendigo, he fell over the bridge. It saved him from the wendigo's claws."

Jed studied John to see if he was telling the truth. He had known John for years, seen him lie. He knew when he was lying and he wasn't lying now.

"OK, new plan. Kid drowns. You won't even have to watch," Jed said. "Come on, Jimmy."

He started pushing Sam towards the door. "Dad, I'm sorry," Sam yelled back as he was pushed to the door. He wasn't sure if he was apologizing for their fight, or getting kidnapped, or what. But, he knew this would be his last chance. Jed and Jimmy were going to drown him and he wasn't going to see his father again.

"Sam!" Dean yelled as he allowed himself to realize what was happening.

"Dean!" Sam yelled back as the door was closed behind him.

"That's more of a good-bye than I got with Joey," Jed noted and pushed him further.

"Might as well take the blindfold off, Dad. Make it easier."

Jed nodded and whipped off Sam's blindfold. He blinked against the fading light. When they were a few feet from their car, Sam kicked Jed in the leg and ran towards the road. They were in the country though, and he knew the next house was about a half mile away. Jimmy tackled him as he reached the driveway.

"Got him?" Jed yelled.

"Yeah," Jimmy yelled back and hauled Sam back to his feet. "Try that again, and you'll regret it."

Sam wondered what had happened to these guys. They used to all be friends. He wondered if he would be changed into something so cold-hearted if something happened to Dean or his Dad. He hoped not.

"You're going to kill me anyway," Sam pointed out.

"But, first we have to get you there. We're an hour away. We could hurt you a lot in that time."

Sam was shoved into the trunk. "This is where bad boys ride," Jed said as he closed the trunk. He had ventilated it a few years ago just in case, so Sam would still be alive in time to drown.


	5. Drowning

"We got to get out of here," Dean said and tried to look around for something to pick the locks.

"I have lock picks in my pocket," John said.

With much twisting and turning, Dean managed to grab them. He then got his own cuffs undone and quickly did John's.

"Come on. They'll probably go to that same bridge. It's an hour away. Maybe we can catch up."

Dean and John ran out. They both jumped into John's truck, because as much as Dean hated to admit it, it was faster than the Impala. They sped off in that direction and hoped that was indeed what Jed had planned.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Jed opened up the trunk. Sam was ready for him and kicked out knocking him to the ground. He took off running, but once again, Jimmy easily caught up to him. "I wish there were only one of you," Sam mumbled.

"I wish my brother was still alive," Jimmy replied.

"So do I," Sam agreed. He had always liked Joey. It was kind of crazy. Sam didn't want to hunt, wanted a normal life, but his father wanted him to hunt and not care about school. Joey had loved hunting, but his father had wanted him to go to college and get an education, make something more of himself. Sam had remembered when he wished Jed had been his father. He certainly didn't wish that anymore. His father would never kill somebody else's son because of a hunting accident. At least he didn't think he would.

Jimmy grabbed out his knife and placed it at Sam's throat. "My dad wants you to drown like Joey did, but I don't really care. I'll let you bleed to death…slowly."

Sam remembered a macabre conversation the two sets of brothers had once had, saying their worst way to die. Dean had chosen fire, Joey had actually said drowning. He figured that was why John hadn't mentioned that before. Joey had always been afraid of drowning. Jimmy had made a joke of it and said old age, but Sam had said bleeding to death. Jimmy had obviously remembered.

Jimmy pulled the knife tighter on Sam's throat and Sam let him lead him into the woods, with Jed following close behind.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"There's their car," Dean said and jumped out of the truck. John was out a half second later and they ran towards the bridge. It was about a mile to the bridge and hopefully Sam was struggling, slowing them down. Maybe they could catch up.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Here we are," Jed announced, unnecessarily as they walked halfway across the bridge.

"Don't do this," Sam said.

"Sorry. This isn't about you. It's about your Dad. He needs to feel the pain I went through." Jed started to lift Sam over the railing.

"Stop!" John and Dean yelled as they came into sight.

Jed finished pushing and Sam tumbled down to the rapids below.

"NOOO!" Dean yelled and ran to the middle of the bridge and jumped in after him, with John close behind.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. They're all as good as dead. Especially Sam, with his hands still bound behind him."

With one last glance towards the water, Jimmy followed his father out of the woods. His job had been to protect Joey. He hadn't been able to do that, so he was glad that he had avenged him. But, he now realized that it wouldn't bring him back.

Dean was swimming with the current downstream looking for Sam. He saw him briefly bob up and then go under again. He called over to his father and swam in that direction. He looked around, but didn't see him anymore.

"SAM!" he yelled. He dove under the water. He found Sam snagged by a branch. He quickly swam over to him. It took what seemed like forever to untangle him, but was probably only 15 to 20 seconds. Dean pulled him up and swam him to shore. When John noticed that Dean had the situation under control he swam to the bank to meet them. He got out and Dean handed Sam up to him and climbed up after him.

"He's not breathing," John said and laid him out so they could start CPR. John blew the breaths in Sam's mouth, while Dean worked the compressions. Finally, thankfully, Sam coughed. Dean rolled him over so he could spit out the water.

"Sammy?" John asked, anxiously.

"I'm OK," Sam reassured him weakly.

"Let's get these cuffs off him," Dean said as he gently rolled him over so he could pick the locks.

"Thanks, Dean," Sam said. He couldn't believe that they had jumped off a bridge to save him after all that happened the day before.

"Come on, we're all wet," John said. John took one of Sam's arms and Dean the other one, and they helped him to his feet.

"I'm OK," Sam insisted.

They walked out of the woods as quickly as they could. Dean and John were scanning for Jed and Jimmy. They had no idea where they had ended up. They drove to the nearest hotel, and John got them a room.

"We need to get out of these wet clothes," John said.

"Um, I don't have any other clothes," Sam said. He had been carrying all his clothes when he was nabbed.

"Get in a robe. Dean take a shower and then run to the store and get some clothes for your brother," John said, knowing Sam was too big for either of their clothes.

"Sorry for what I said yesterday, Sammy," John said when Dean was out of the room.

"Me, too," Sam said.

John's phone rang. "Hello?"

"John, it's Bobby. I found out that tip originated with Jed and Jimmy Jackson."

"Yeah, I know. It was a set up to kill Sam in revenge for Joey."

"Is he OK?" Bobby asked, worried.

"Yeah, he's right here. Jed and Jimmy are still out there, though. Left him for dead, probably thought they finished the job. I'm afraid they might be back when they realized they didn't."

Sam looked up. He hadn't thought of that. Hadn't had time to.

"Why don't you guys come stay with me for a few days."

"Sounds good," John agreed. They could use a break.

Dean got out of the shower and headed out to the store. John decided he would go next since Sam had to wait for clothes anyway.


	6. Same Old Song

"Hey, Bobby," Dean said when they arrived at his house.

"Hi, guys. Where's your dad?"

"He's getting some supplies," Dean answered.

"So, you guys coming to the festival at the end of August?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, sir," Dean answered.

"I can't come. I'm starting school that weekend," Sam said.

Dean stared at him in shock. He was still going? He thought that since him and his dad had made up Sam was going to stick around.

"I thought you graduated," Bobby said.

"College. I got into Stanford."

"That's great. Congratulations." Bobby was so proud of him. Sam had always been really smart.

John walked in. "John, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" John asked, knowing from Bobby's beaming it must be something good.

"About Sam getting into Stanford."

"Oh, yeah. I'm real proud of him, but there's not much to tell since he's not going."

So, Dean wasn't the only one who thought that.

"I'm still going, Dad," Sam protested.

"But, you apologized," John argued.

"For the fight, and for getting captured by Jed. But, I still need to live my own life."

"You got kidnapped five seconds out the door. Do you really think you can live on your own? It's too dangerous out there."

"So, does what you said still go? If I go, stay gone?"

"You said what?" Bobby interjected.

"Yes, it still goes," John said, ignoring Bobby.

"Fine, I'm going," Sam said. For the second time, he headed out. Kicked out of his family.

"What the hell was that all about?" Bobby asked.

"He doesn't want to be a part of this family anymore, that's just fine," John groused.

"Get out of here or I'll shoot you," Bobby said. "Dean can stay." Bobby wanted to make sure Dean knew he wasn't mad at him, or Sam. John, on the other hand, was an ass.

"Come on, Bobby," John protested. Bobby had no right to tell him how to raise his children.

Bobby grabbed his shotgun and cocked it. "Fine. I'm leaving."

He walked out and Dean followed him.

"You don't have to go, Dean," Bobby repeated.

"Yeah, I do," Dean said. Sam had abandoned them, he couldn't abandon his dad.

1 year later

"Let's go check on Sam," John said when they finished up a hunt in California. As often as they could, they went to Palo Alto and skulked outside of Sam's place, making sure he was OK. John was too proud to go talk to him and Dean was too afraid there was no place for him in Sam's new life.

"OK," Dean agreed. He loved making sure Sam was safe. He loved that kid, but it made him sad, too. Knowing he was so close, but couldn't talk to him.

When they arrived, they saw Jed slinking around outside of Sam's dorm. "Crap," John said. He had come to finish the job. It was probably safe to assume that Jimmy wasn't far behind.

"Dean, go see if you can find Jimmy," John ordered. He would deal with Jed.

Dean went around to the back of the building. He figured if Jed was scoping the front, he would have sent Jimmy out back. Sure enough, he found him in the bushes. "Hey," he said.

Jimmy turned around. "This has gotten so messed up, Dean."

Dean wasn't expecting conversation. "What are you talking about?"

"Joey and Sam were friends. He wouldn't want us to kill him. My dad's just gone crazy with the grief. I tried to argue with him, but he told me if I didn't help him, I wasn't his son anymore. I lost my mother, I lost my brother. I can't lose my father, too."

Dean sighed. He understood the feeling, but couldn't let Jimmy kill Sam for the sake of family relations.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Jed," John yelled.

Jed turned around to look as did the few students milling about.

Jed ran away and John followed him. He caught up with him a few blocks away. Jed pulled his gun and aimed at John, but John was faster and shot him. He tried never to hurt people, monsters were his job, but this guy was never going to leave Sam alone. This was really Sam's fault. If he would have stayed with him and Dean where he could be protected, Jed would still be alive.

He ran back to the truck. He had to get Dean and get out of there, before the cops caught up with him. When he reached the truck, Dean was standing there with Jimmy. "Jimmy wants to help stop his father," Dean said.

"I'm sorry, but your father's dead. If you want revenge, you take it out on me," John said. He would let him, too. He couldn't kill his son's friend. They had practically all grown up together.

"No. Revenge only gets you more death," Jimmy said and walked away, sadly shaking his head.

Dean and John left, evading the police.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

One of Sam's friends came up to him the next day. "Did you hear what happened?"

"No, what?"

"There was a murder a few blocks away."

"Really?" Sam asked. He hoped it was a regular murder, not a ghost-related one.

"Yeah, some guy got shot in the street."

That was a regular murder. Nothing to do with him.

The End.


End file.
